


Enlightening

by seriesly



Category: The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Fate, Soul Bond, Soulmates, True Love, glowing chest, god it's so corny isn't it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-27 19:55:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20766062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seriesly/pseuds/seriesly
Summary: Soulmate AU.Touching your soulmate - no matter how small the contact - makes your chest glow.Unfortunately Miranda isn't a very touchy person.





	1. Prologue

Finding your true soulmate is only accomplished through skin-to-skin contact. It may be a handshake or an accidental brush of fingers - once you've touched your better half, the souls within your body will recognise its lost half. It's generally accompanied by glowing chests and feelings of happiness and warmth and the feeling of finally being home will fight for dominance. Many say that the day of finding their soulmate was the best day of their life.

Soulbonds will always find a way to connect the two stray souls, even if the person they belong to resists. It's fate and it can be a long way until two persons find each other, but they always will find each other.  
Love always finds its way.


	2. Chapter 2

The day Andy Sachs has her interview at Runway, she is overwhelmed by the whole magazine and the attitude of its workers. No one bothers to greet her or even acknowledge her existence. 

As her would-be boss Miranda Priestly struts into the office and demands to speak to her, she gets nervous for the very first time since arriving. Almost seeing the waves of power radiating off Miranda, Andy decides she'd rather have a safe distance of almost three metres between them. 

Apparently Miranda isn't taken with formalities like shaking hands in greeting or in goodbye anyway.  
Miranda only flicks her hands in the air to tell Andy their little conversation is over.

Andy tries her luck and pleads a last time to give her the job. It is enough and she scores a new job.

_She probably has found her soulmate already and just isn't fond of touching strangers._

*

Miranda is actively averting direct touch. At least that is what Andy gathers from her coffee runs and her orders from Emily.  
"You put the coffee on her desk, five centimetres from the magazines, four centimetres from the edge of the table. You do not hand it to her directly, understood? Andrea, look at me and say after me. 'I will not hand her the coffee directly.' "

Suppressing an eyeroll, she does as told and repeats "I will not hand her the coffee directly."

Andy hates Emily's speeches about proper behaviour around Miranda. She actually knows how to deal with complicated people. Between the two of them, Emily might be the Miranda expert but she isn't as stupid as Emily believes.

Andy tries to hand Miranda the coffee once. And only once. Miranda has glared so long at her outstretched arm (which was holding Miranda's scalding coffee, thank you very much) that Andy decided it's better to just put it onto the table and leave the room quietly. Luckily Miranda was in a generous mood that afternoon and didn't comment on her actions. And if she did give Andy slightly more complicated tasks to fulfill, then it was in her right to do so.

*

Andy's suspicion about Miranda's avoidance of touch is finally confirmed by Nigel a few weeks later.  
The two of them find themselves in a bar on a relatively stress free Saturday which had directly lead to an increased alcohol consume to celebrate the rarity.  
That's when Nigel spills a story that Miranda has shared with him in a peaceful moment years ago:

"You know, Miranda didn't always have her No Touch policy," Nigel murmurs contemplatively before finishing his blue drink in one swift motion. Giving Andy a meaningful glare at her half-empty wine glass, he continues his train of thought. "She was harassed in the elevator."

Andy's eyebrows shoot up at an alarming speed.

"No, it's probably not as bad as you think now! Well... Okay, it was pretty bad at the time. I wonder why she hasn't taken any precautions to prevent these moments. Where was I? Oh, right. Miranda. Well, back in the day she even allowed other passengers in the elevator," Nigel adds, chuckling mirthless.

"Sometimes men and women would board who apparently had high hopes of being Miranda's soulmate. As if it was destiny that Miranda Priestly would be in the car _just_ when they wanted to go up or down. So they touched her. Sometimes it was just a small contact of the fingers, sometimes they would try to be seductive and glide their fingers up and down her arm."

_Why would Miranda allow that? The Miranda I am working for wouldn't allow anyone closer than her arm length. Probably more like two arm lengths, actually._

"One day, she stopped tolerating it. There was a man, Tobias Kinsley. He entered the elevator, saw that Miranda's skin for once was covered from head to toe, and decided to touch her anyway. Wanted to make the first touch count, apparently. Miranda hasn't seen him approaching and could only turn her head in the last second. So he kissed her cheek, then was slapped heftily and got a big fat lawsuit for sexual harassment. Last time I checked, he worked in a gas station outside of New York."

Andy is rendered speechless by Nigel's story. She feels very sorry for Miranda at once. No one should ever be in such an uncomfortable situation. It makes Andy vow to herself to be more accommodating and understanding the next time she has to wait for the next elevator while Miranda was already underway.

"Ever since, she's made it clear, that no one ever is allowed to ride with her in the elevator if they don't want to share his fate."

*

Once Andy has realised Miranda is actively avoiding any kind of touch, she can't help but notice how odd Miranda reacts to any kind of physical closeness.

For example when Miranda throws her stuff onto Andy's desk. She never lets anyone disrobe her at the office, just in case they accidentally brush their fingers along her neck or something. No, she's not risking that anymore and instead gets rid of her clothes in the empty elevator. Well, she can't have her hands brush their hands while handing over her clothes, right? So she throws them carelessly on her assistants' desks. On top of that, it clearly shows who's in power at the office, so just another bonus for Miranda.

Only after her talk with Nigel Andy realises that Miranda is not doing it for the kick of power. She is doing it, so no one will touch her. After all, she has seen a clerk disrobing Miranda before at some party. He has worn gloves. Andy is certain, he wouldn't do his clerking anymore if he hadn't worn them and tried to help her out of her coat then.

*

Andy does a few things right and is promoted to deliver the book. At first she is glad about the trust Miranda shows. Then she realises that this isn't a promotion, not really. It's just a tasks that guarantees Andy is not getting home before 12am. It's not like bringing the book is a personal affair.

On most nights Andy is simply putting it onto the table with the flowers (after figuring out which one), stowing away the dry-cleaning and leaving.  
On very rare nights Miranda calls Andy into the study, so she can give her the book directly. She is allowed to touch the far end, and only that, while touches Miranda the other end, despite the fact Miranda is wearing gloves. 

Andy isn't sure if Miranda notices these little things anymore and how ridiculously much she's avoiding getting touched. It's not her business and so she doesn't comment on it.

*

Sometimes Andy forgets about the No-Touch policy (which should be renamed to Keep-At-Least-A-One-Meter-Distance-At-All-Times in Andy's opinion). It's not like she would suddenly grab Miranda's arm or something stupid like that. It's just that she doesn't control her gestures as much as she usually would. 

She's sitting in the town car with Miranda to her right. It's an unspoken agreement that both of them are to stay on their half of the car since the space in the backseat is already limited and Andy is sitting less than an arm length away from Miranda. She knows it makes Miranda highly uncomfortable. Well, she doesn't _know_ it, but Miranda's rigid posture suggests it. 

Usually, Andy treats Miranda like a frightened deer when they have to share the car. She moves as little as possible, and when she moves, she tries to do slow motions. She's also using her soothing voice, which sounds remarkably like her mother's when she tried to calm Andy after she has fallen off her bike. 

Today Andy is overtired. She has had an exhausting day yesterday and stayed up late to call her parents. And then, when she was finally falling into bed, she couldn't sleep in because her mind kept wandering back to Miranda and the clothes she has worn that day and all the appointments and meetings she would have tomorrow and that she would probably crave a large coffee afterwards and that she hasn't been to her masseur in a while. It was past 3am and she had to get up at 7 again and only the thought of Miranda's smile finally made her drifting off to sleep.

That's the reason why Andy isn't careful as usual and it just happens. Miranda asked (yes, Miranda _asked_, not demanded to know) where Andy has bought the soap and lotions last week that were meant to be a present but turned out too inviting to give away. It's a coincidence that they are just passing exactly that shop, which makes Andy shout "Look, right there. Soapology!" and gesture wildly with her arm in the direction of the shop which happens to be on Miranda's half of the back seat. 

The excitement is soon squashed like a bug when Andy notices Miranda's death glare that could've made a plant wilt within seconds. It's worse than the time she has interrupted Miranda's and Stephen's fight. She can feel the blood draining from her face. The sudden urge to jump out of the moving car is tempting but the car's going way to fast and she'd be in the middle of nowhere and only has --

Miranda turns away and sends her glare out of the window. Her jaw is still tightened and her hands are curled to fists. The silence between them is deafening and everyone knows a silent Miranda is way more dangerous than a cutting-remark-speaking-Miranda. Andy pretends to look out of her window for the rest of the ride.

Pulling up to the curb, Miranda unclenches her jaw and fists for the first time in minutes. She pulls out a pair of gloves and puts them on. They're not a beauty statement, it's just Miranda's usual paranoia of having to touch someone and - heaven forbid - have the chance to Touch her soulmate. Miranda doesn't like the feeling of gloves, especially in summer. Miranda tries to avoid them, Andy knows, but she always wears them when they are out in public.

"I believe you wanted to take a cab to Hermès and pick up some scarves afterwards," Miranda snarls silently before opening her own door.

Andy gulps. "Yes, Miranda," she mutters back.

_Not fired then. Yet._

*

Miranda looks stunning. Everyone in the room will confirm it. It's not only that the blackness of the shoulder free dress which is complementing her skin tone greatly, it's also the sheer amount of creamy skin she's showing. It makes her look a lot softer.

When Miranda descended those stairs earlier, Andy had to consciously remind herself to keep breathing. It's not like Andy's hasn't seen her in a dress before - she has and was quite fine then. So what is different now?  
Maybe it was the lighting of the room or the graceful way Miranda was walking or the fact that her relationship with Nate was crumbling or it was the two flutes of champagne she had downed since arriving here.

The reason doesn't matter anyway because Andy couldn't tear her eyes away from the goddess in front of her and raked her eyes up and down Miranda's elegantly clad figure.  
Then she remembered that she was in the middle of a ball in a room full of people and currently ogling _her boss._

_Very professional, Sachs, nice._

Miranda pretends she doesn't notice either of her assistants who are literally waiting at the end of the stairs for her. She simply walks past them and is immediately engaged in a conversation with two older, very rich looking men. After a moment she recognizes them from the two books Emily had banged on her table yesterday. Charles Crawford and Walter Kingsbury. Hopefully Miranda knew their names as well.

As Miranda kept talking to people, Andy and Emily had no other job than to stand behind her at a respectable distance and look remotely interested in what happened around them. Truth be told, it was very boring to stand around all evening and have no one to talk to (Emily didn't want to chat with Andy, as always, and they couldn't just go and talk to someone because here, they were still working). Emily remembers all the names of the guests and Andy feels useless for the first time in months. 

With nothing left to do, Andy is watching Miranda. She is - for a lack of a better word - terribly jumpy every time Emily leans a bit closer to her to murmur the names of the approaching guests. It really shouldn't happen after the tenth time someone waves at Miranda and walks over. She really should anticipate that Emily is going to be a bit closer to murmur the names in her ear, yet she seems like she can't control her reaction. _Must be incredibly frustrating for Miranda, to have this lack of control over her body._

Andy also notices the fake smile Miranda has attached to her face all evening. She wonders what Miranda's real smile looks like. 

She notices the way the muscles on her upper back and neck shift under Miranda's porcelain skin while talking to someone. It's fascinating Andy more than it should and she really should not let her eyes wander too much but she keeps looking anyway and wonders if Miranda's skin is really as soft as it looks and she really wants to press her mouth to the side of her neck and feel Miranda's heartbeat and maybe then --  
Her thoughts come to a grinding halt. 

_Oh shit. I really should not, really really definitely SHOULD NOT think about stuff like this. What is wrong with me today?_

_Well, okay, Miranda is ridiculously attractive for her age and the dress is showing of her amazing figure and --_

_Okay, Andy, stop it. Stop it this instant._

Willing herself to think about articles she could write in the future or has written some time ago, her mind wanders off. Only when Emily is stuttering beside her because she can't remember the name of the two persons approaching them, Andy is transported back to the present.

Andy takes her chance, leans forward and whispers the information into Miranda's ear.  
For the first time this evening, Miranda has not jumped as someone approached.  
She looks over to Emily to see if she has picked up on that as well. If her wide eyes are any indication, Andy would guess that, yes, Emily has noticed it as well.

Miranda is oblivious to the silent bafflement of her assistants. As the evening wears on, Andy gets no further chance to try and speak the names into Miranda's ear again. She wonders if Miranda would have jumped at the second time.

*

Between confusing thoughts about her very female boss, Emily constantly ignoring her after 'stealing' Paris from her, and the general stress of her job, Andy's relationship with Nate falls apart.  
Nate breaks up with her but it doesn't matter for now because Andy is knees deep in preparations for Paris fashion week, which is only 2 days away.  
To her chagrin Andy has to admit that she is secretly relieved that she doesn't have to worry about Nate's pride and ego anymore.

*

Here's the thing about soulmates: Souls that belong together will always recognize each other. Once the two people who share the same soul have met, the two halves of the whole will find a way to bring those two people together. There's no escaping, no matter how hard you try.

It's Wednesday and they are in Paris. 

It's been a long week for Andy. Although it has become her second nature to arrange Miranda's meetings, she is still stressed out by all the events and designers and assistants who constantly try to change Miranda's already busy schedule at the very last minute. 

_I can't wait to have a free weekend soon. Hell, I'd take a free afternoon as well. _

Whatever gods may live above, they have heard Andy's plea. Surprisingly, a party had to be cancelled which left Miranda (and by extension Andy) with a free evening. 

Apparently, Christian Thompson has just waited for such an opportunity to arise and asks her out. Andy says Yes to the date because she's too polite to decline but says No when Christian wants to take her home. 

*

On Thursday everything is heading south.

Andy is sitting next to Nigel when he receives the terrible news. Just in the prior evening Nigel was buzzing with energy when he told her about this fantastic job offer he received, his dream of leaving Runway finally coming true.  
Seeing Miranda on the podium, delivering the news in front of the whole fashion world, obviously not caring about the dreams and aspirations of (what she thought) her closest friend, then even _smiling_ makes Andy want to hate her.

Oh, and she tries. But hate is never entering her heart, instead burning anger fills the space.

Miranda has no qualms about her actions, not even when Andy calls her out for her awful behaviour in the car on their way to the next event.  
Only the slight edge in Miranda's voice tells Andy that this conversation has an effect on her cold boss.

The conversation only gets more heated when Miranda compares her own shortcomings towards Emily to her abysmal behaviour against Nigel. The mirror that Miranda just placed in front of her shows the ugly part of herself. Of the person that she has become. And Andy, not ready to face the truth, has only meagre excuses.

"But what if it’s not what I want? I mean, what if I don’t want to live the way you do?"

And then Miranda makes an error in jugdment. "Don’t be silly, Andrea. This is what everyone wants. Everyone wants to be us."

Sneering her parting shot, Miranda puts on her glasses and a fake smile and exits the car, right into the flashlights of the reporters.

Andy, who has gone through a rollercoaster of emotions like anger, shame, fear and disgust all within the last five minutes, considers running away and getting away from the life she doesn't want for herself.

But the problem with soulmates is that, not matter how much you really want to leave, you will keep coming back. 

Overwhelmed by racing thoughts and feelings, Andy lingers for a bit in the car. She is ready to leave. Ready to leave and never turn back. But what should've been her final glance at her mercurial boss changes everything. Andy watches Miranda climbing the stairs to the venue. She sees Miranda turn around and she is extremely aware of the split second that Miranda loses her face when she sees that Andy is not following her. It's the telling glint of confusion and panic has entered her eyes that makes the brunette cast her plan to the wind. She starts moving her legs before she even registers it.

The movement makes Miranda spot her at bottom of stairs. She does the unthinkable as she blindly reaches out for Andy (_Maybe to make sure she's really at her side?_ Even years later Miranda hasn't figured out the sudden impulse). With the hectic and people all around her, Miranda doesn't notice her bare hands. While arguing with Andy in the car, for the first time in her decades she has forgotten to put on her gloves.

For split second Andy is surprised by warmth of Miranda's hand. But then all thoughts leave her head when she sees a warm soft glow emitted by Miranda's chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Found some spelling mistakes? Grammatical errors? Cool. Tell me. I can fix that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kind comments, they really made my day!  
Thank you also for all the kudos I've received (it's insane, i didn't think my story would be this popular)  
You made me want to finish this story even faster, and I hope you like it as well.
> 
> THANK YOU AGAIN

_For a split second Andy is surprised by warmth of Miranda's hand. But then all thoughts leave her head when she sees a warm soft glow emitted by Miranda's chest._

*****

A mix of orange, yellow and red lights are seemingly dancing right beneath the surface of Miranda's fair skin. Everybody knows what that means – it means that _Miranda_ is her soulm--  
Andy is physically unable to stop her mouth from falling open. 

_But that can't be right. Right? No, that is ridiculous._

Somewhat convinced that she must be wrong, Andy moves up her eyes from the spectacle of light beneath Miranda's collarbones to her eyes. Except Miranda is sporting that same look of incredulousness. And also Miranda's eyes are fixed to some point below Andy’s chin. Following that gaze, Andy is met by a glittering swirl of turquoise, teal, and cerulean lights. Right in the middle of her own chest.

_Holy shit._

The paparazzi and reporters are roaring around them; the air is filled with the clicking sounds of the shutters of cameras; all the flashes are going off like fireworks. Everyone wants to capture the unique moment, because frankly everyone else is faster at understanding what's happening than the two women. 

Yet, as they're staring at the lights dancing beneath the skin's surface and unconsciously clinging to each others' hands, the truth is sinking in. Soulmates. Still enraptured with the beauty, neither of them notice the tumult all around them.

The spell is broken when one of the bodyguards, who's been waiting for them to enter the building, touches Miranda's elbow with his gloved hand. It almost feels like waking up from a pleasant dream when the bubble of their own little world bursts and the reality of paparazzi and fashion shows and the Place de la Concorde crashes back in.  
They rush inside, still holding hands as if their life depended on it.

Though, once the doors close behind them, Andy and Miranda both stop dead in their tracks. Silence is engulfing them as they're looking at each other as if they would see each other for the first time. The air is sizzling and their skin is warm and tingling where they still maintain skin contact.

"Miranda," Andy breathes.

"We'll talk about this later, Andrea. I..." _really want to leave right now and just hold your hand for forever._ Clearing her throat, Miranda says instead "I have a meeting with Donatella now. We can-- Later."  
Disappointed but understanding, Andy steps away and reluctantly removes her hand from Miranda's hands which are still drawing soothing circles across the back of her hand. She turns up her megawatt smile. "Let's get this day over with."

*

It doesn't even take longer than the meeting for the first articles and snapshots to appear. It seems like every gossip column is already talking about the newest celebrity Glowing. Despite Miranda's hatred for Page Six even she can't keep the smile from her face when she sees the first picture of the two of them. Andy doesn't even try to seem mad about her appearance on Page Six. Her smile hasn't faltered once in nearly two hours.

Miranda cancels the rest of her day and goes back to the hotel instead. Andy makes a move to follow Miranda to her room, and Miranda also doesn’t want her to be far away, but she still has some things to do before she's ready to talk about the soulmate business with Andrea. 

"Andrea." Andy looks up with a hopeful expression. "I need to make some important phone calls first. Nevertheless, would you like to meet me in an hour in my suite to talk?"

Andy is disappointed but agrees. That glance at her lips when Miranda said 'talk' certainly helped as well.

She parts ways with _her freaking soulmate_ and has a lengthy chat with her parents. They’re delighted that Andy has found her soulmate but are disappointed that it’s Miranda of all people.

Meanwhile Miranda, alone for the first time since this morning, takes out her phone and looks again at their picture in the news. But she, too, has to make some phone calls. Of course, she wants to talk to the twins first. She doesn't know if they already know the news. It's unlikely since everything happened less than two hours ago.

The phone is picked up before the second ring and Miranda is greeted with an ear shattering squeal. _That answers the question if they have heard about it._

"MOM!" two voices shout into the phone.

"Bobbsey, what did I say about squealing?" 

"I'm sorry, mom, but you look so beautiful and Andy, too!" Caroline answers.

"Yeah, mom, you're literally glowing!" Cassidy pipes in. "Are you in love with Andy now? Is she moving in?"  
"Yeah, mom, when are you coming home? Does Stephen know about this? Can we talk about it in school, mom? Everybody has been asking about it!" Caroline adds before she is interrupted by Cassidy again, "Mom, what was it like? Will we find our soulmates soon, mom? Are we-- "

"Girls, girls, breathe for a second!"

For a second everything is quiet. Then, the tentative voice of her youngest daughter asks "So, it's Andy, mom?"

"Yes, it's Andy, darling," Miranda says with a small smile on her face.

"What happens now? Will she move in with us?"

"I don't know that, darlings. We haven't talked about it yet."

"What?!", two voices shout simultaneously. "Mom, you have to talk to Andy!"

"Yes, we will talk about it soon, Bobbseys. But what about you? What do you think about Andy? Do you like her?"

"Psh, mom, we've liked her since, like, the beginning," the slightly higher voice, Caroline, answers.

"Oh, is that so?" Miranda raises an eyebrow but hears two hums in agreement. "So, you two decided to act like two grown-ups and didn't prank her the first time she came and brought the book, then?"

"Well…" There's silence at the other end of the line. If Miranda had to guess, she would say that the twins are staring at each other, silently discussing who is breaking the 'news' to their mother. Miranda knows that Emily warned Andrea not to wander in the house and that Andrea wouldn't have gone upstairs unprompted that day. 

"Okay, we did prank her once then, but only once, we promise! It wasn't as funny as we thought it would be and she was still nice to us the next day. We actually like her very much, mom. She's cool."

"I'm very glad you think so, Bobbseys. I have to hang up and talk to Stephen as well. Be good to your father today and don't gossip too much about Andrea and me in school, okay? You’re better than Page Six, Bobbseys. I love you two." 

"We love you, too, mommy. You have to tell us more when you're back, yes?"

"Yes, we will." _Hopefully._ "Sleep well tonight."

"You too. And dream about us. And Andy." There is some giggling and then the line is dead.

Miranda sighs. This went much better than expected. But there’s still the phone call to Stephen that she dreads. 

He picks up equally fast as the twins. _Maybe he's been waiting for the call as well._ Their marriage has been on a rocky path for a while now. They had hoped the time apart during Paris fashion week would help them. Well, now Miranda has found her soulmate. 

They’re talking quietly about generic things for a few minutes before they finally address the elephant in the room.  
"You've been twitchier these last few months, you know," Stephen says with a resigned voice. "We've been fighting more. You wanted to compromise less. I think this has been coming, Mira. Don't get me wrong, I am happy for you, really. It's just so sudden… I will send you the divorce papers tomorrow, okay? You just go and enjoy your evening. Give my best wishes to your Andrea, she'll need it."  
With that parting shot Stephen ends the call.

_My Andrea_, Miranda thinks. And then _Did I just get hung up on twice within ten minutes? The world must be upside-down._

With these calls cleared away, there is only one last thing to do: talking to Andrea about this whole business. Barely half an hour has passed since she last saw her. Miranda strides purposefully to her door, not willing to wait another thirty minutes to get this out of the way. Just as she opens her door however, there’s Andrea at the other side, one hand in the air as if the was just about to knock.

As they lock eyes, the world seems to tilt a bit and something clicks and suddenly everything’s alright. Even the itch they both unconsciously have felt disappears. Andy is grinning widely and Miranda grins back at her and the warmth deep inside their chests is suddenly back in full force.

"Come in, Andrea, or did you want to wait in the hallway all day?" With that Miranda turns and walks back into the suite, certain that Andy will follow her.

"So… Soulmates?"

"Obviously."

The silence stretches as they’re standing in the middle of the room, little more than an arm’s length apart. Andy knows that Miranda probably won’t take the first step. _It's up to me then to do the jump._ "I would be lying if I said there was no attraction before that."

"One might say a lot of things," Miranda smirks while taking a step towards Andy.

"Mh-hm," Andy agrees while sneaking her arms around Miranda's neck. Miranda in turn places her hands on Andy's hips. There is no place in the world that Andy would rather be in this very second. It feels natural and right. They’re both smiling softly at each other.

"But would one do these things as well?" Miranda continues.

"I don't know." Andy answers in a monotonous voice, goading her. "What's stopping you?"

There's a tiny sparkle in Miranda's and then their mouths crash together, hanging onto each other as if it’s the only lifeline left. There’s this fierce longing to be closer and closer – it’s the yearning of their souls to be united once and for all. 

Unbeknownst to both women the lights in their chests have started glowing again. They are glowing brighter than ever until they start detaching from the body and start swirling all around them. They are mixing variations of lilac, purple, and white, then separating back to reds and blues again and flying into another part of the room, chasing each other or just dancing through the air. 

Andy is the one who notices it first. "Miranda, look!," she claims breathlessly.

It's a cold September afternoon in Paris. Two women, vastly different and yet the same, are standing in a hotel room. They’re holding each other as they watch a spectacle of beauty that’s incomparable to anything in the world.  
The whole room is filled with lights, their lights, and it’s more beautiful than anything they’ve ever seen.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reality of me writing: opened word document on my laptop, phone in my hands, scrolling through Instagram, watching a youtube video, writing a few sentences before scrunching up my face because _Is this even an English expression?_ , checking it online, going back to the word document only to have forgotten what you wanted to write, writing an entirely different paragraph instead, _‘wait, how do you spell that again?’_, putting my head in my hands and groaning, then telling myself I just need a quick break. Taking the phone in my hands, scrolling through instag--

"Miranda?" 

The two women are sitting on the couch in the family living room, both occupied with work. Andy knows she has to be careful with this particular subject around Miranda but there's a question that she's been dying to ask. And after a month of a very successful relationship she thought it was time to probe a bit. "There's something I would like to know."

Miranda, being observant as ever, notices the way Andy bites her lips ̶ a nervous habit that Andy never quite outgrew. _Damn, I really wanted to stop doing that._ She tilts her head slightly as a sign to proceed.

"Nigel told me a while ago what happened in the elevator and why you refuse to ride with anyone else. And I totally understand that," Andy rushes on as she sees Miranda's furrowed brows, "but why did you also have that No Touch rule? Why did you try so hard to avoid skin contact all of a sudden as well after that?"

There's a sharp intake of breath coming from Miranda. "You mean 'Why did I avoid meeting my soulmate'?," she sneers. Andy swears she can see Miranda raising her emotional walls. The very walls Andy has been trying to break down one by one for weeks now. _Crap._

"I-- I don't want you to feel.... If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. I... was just curious, that's all."

With another shaky intake of breath, Miranda responds in a low voice. "No... I suppose I don't _have to._"

Upon hearing the words, Andy's shoulders drop a bit. She doesn't take long to recover from her reaction and straightens her posture again. "Okay… Okay. If you change your --"

"That doesn't mean that I don't _want_ to tell you, Andrea," Miranda interrupts impatiently as fidgets with an old Runway magazine.

"Are you sure? You don't look very happy about it," Andy replies in a low voice when she sees the slight tremor in Miranda's hands.

This draws a tiny chuckle from the older woman. "That would be because I anticipated that question and yet hoped you would never ask it... But Andrea, if I had known it would be _you_ waiting for me... I certainly wouldn't have gone all the trouble with that touching nonsense."

Not sure if Miranda expects a reply, Andy stays silent. 

"My second marriage was about to fail and I had two six-year-old children to think of and there was no one around for me to rely on because my job never allows me to trust someone implicitly, without the fear of being backstabbed.  
But even in my mid-forties I had the romantic notion that my soulmate would enter my life one day and everything would be okay. So I allowed grazing of fingers and hands on my elbows and sweaty handshakes. I permitted it. But it went wrong with that _man_," Miranda spits out, "molesting me in an enclosed space with no one else around."

A little sigh escapes from her lips unbidden. 

"So with all the chaos going on around me, I found myself thinking _'What if that man had been my soulmate? No, what if my real soulmate is even_ worse_?'_. You see, I had little faith that an actually good person could be waiting because… Getting the position of Editor in Chief, wasn't easy, Andrea. I did a lot of backstabbing to get where I am today. So naturally I thought this person, my person, must be as broken as I am to fit into my life.  
Just the thought of that repulsed me. I didn't- I don't want a second Me in my life because I felt like I'm already causing enough grief for my children. It's then I decided that we don't need another person in our lives.

"But then Stephen came along. And he was so good with Cassidy and Caroline and he never raised his voice and he _didn't cause trouble_. I felt like this was the sign I was waiting for and married him. Despite the fact that he wasn't my soulmate. And he married me, an attempt to fill the hole his deceased soulmate has left.  
He was good but I wasn't enough and in the end we weren't made for each other. We knew that since the beginning but we tried to keep it together, for the children.

"And then you were there in my office, with these awful clothes but also with a university degree and you were smart and different and it was so refreshing. And you wouldn't stop trying to touch me. I didn't let you, of course, but it was a close call, several times. It's like you can't keep your arms under control when you're near me. Or that you decide to trip just when I'm barely a step away. Or that insistence of yours to hand me things instead of simply putting them down somewhere for me to pick them up later. I believe Emily gave you clear instructions on these parts but you ignored them all and decided just to go for it." 

Although Miranda's words sound criticising, the sparkle in her eyes give her away.

" 'Go for it'?," Andy laughs, "I did no such thing, Miranda. It's just who I am." 

"The point is," Miranda deflects with a fond smile on her face, "that I haven't encountered someone like you before. In hindsight I'm just surprised that I didn't notice fate was nearly pushing you on top of me all along. I've been so blind, Andrea."

"Miranda Priestly, don't you dare go mushy on me now. Who will ever believe me you uttered these words?", Andy replies with a cocky smile.

"Oh, shut up, Andrea"

"Make me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, adding the word 'nonsense' in Miranda’s sentence: My life is complete.


	5. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked my story. 
> 
> Thank you again for all the support I've received

_**Ice-Queen melts for first assistant, Andy Sachs**  
The unbelievable has happened, folks: Our dearest Ice Queen has found her soulmate in the city of love. Indeed, contrary to belief, the Dragon has not slaughtered her soulmate years ago and ate their heart. In fact, she's still alive and quite taken with our Devil in Prada. _

_But who is this mystery girl? The soulmate of the Queen of Fashion is one Andrea Sachs. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sachs had soon high aspirations of becoming a reporter. After graduating from the Northwestern University she moved to the Big Apple to make her dream come true, and has been an employee for Miranda Priestly for a solid eight months._

_So she definitely seems to be able to handle the Devil in Heels. _

_Apparently due to Miranda’s favourite accessory, the infamous gloves, there was no way of having the First Touch – until now. Right in the middle of Paris fashion week on the steps of the Place de la Concorde the magic happened. Look at that fabulous Glowing right there in our snapshot! It’s seems like the couple just couldn’t tear their gazes from each other. Isn’t that romantic?_

_Our source says co-workers have noticed the unique dynamics between the duo even before the First Touch, so no one in the Elias Clarke building is truly surprised by the turn of events.  
"It seems like it was just meant to be," is the final statement of our source._

_Wow, we’re almost blushing from all the romanticism.  
We, the redaction of TMZ, wish the couple the best of luck._

*

Everyone who enters the townhouse knows immediately that every person in this household is very much loved. It’s like a humming in the background that makes you feel content with yourself. 

Among expensive art and polished floors there’s a plain yellowed article framed on the wall. Although Miranda has given the magazine quite a few ugly names over the years, this particular article and especially the accompanying picture stayed.  
It silently hangs there in the hallway and reminds the people entering and leaving their home what they've found under strange circumstances.


End file.
